TCD
TCDs (TEE-see-dee, or sometimes said "tea kid"), short for Trans-Dimensional Communications Device, are sadly an increasingly common possessive machine that is used for controlling people of lower tiers. Description How these machines work is still shrouded in doubt. They are sent to a specified time period, in which they disguise themselves as a common household item according to when they were sent to, or sometimes a child's toy. They always start out with removable tags and hold a psychic link with the sender that will automatically form a psychic connection between whoever touches it and the sender of the TCD. This psychic connection works much like telepathy, but in a much more possessive manner. The reason why TCDs are so dangerous is because the 'toucher' will not immediately notice that the psychic connection has been formed. The TCD itself also "links" itself with its toucher and will emit a series of telepathic, subconscious waves whenever the toucher is at a distance that influence various strange behaviors, including a sudden desire to "go get something they forgot". The victims of TCDs usually don't notice at all any change in them, since the TCD's emitted telepathic waves are aimed at their subconscious and they believe that it is just them getting attatched to the TCD. At a certain time, however, the TCD will influence behaviors of cutting off its tag. Once this happens, the original sender of the TCD has near-full control over the person who has the TCD - so long as that victim is either holding/touching or at a certain close range to the TCD. The victims become zombielike and will develop horrible short-term memory as well as arrogantness. Downsides TCDs are somewhat unreliable. They work on any tier, but an individual victim could easily snap out of the trance sent by the owner of the TCD if they were strong enough, or ignore the subconscious waves emitted by the TCD that influence the strange behavior. Even a mortal could do this if they really tried. This is why TCDs are targeted at people who have less self-esteem, are disabled, or have little willpower to resist. Also, if the TCD gets damaged by fire, water, overload of electricity, etc., the psychic connection is severed immediately and cannot be fixed unless another TCD is sent. TCDs are nasty devices but don't always work the way they are expected to work. The easiest way to snap out of a connection is to reset the TCD's hardware, which will also sever psychic connections but will make it still able to snag a victim away. Also, once a TCD assumes a specific form, they can never switch out of it. There are currently 19 TCDs scattered around the Earth, and many people have learned to recognize them by their iconic appearances. 5 of the patterns are known worldwide, but the other 14 remain a mystery. The most famous one assumes the form of a small, stuffed giraffe, but which has been reported to have been burned by an unknown being for unknown purposes. The owner of this item has never been found. Some beings have been known to abandon their TCDs if they find that they do not work, or have not been found for a long time. These TCDs still do contain their owner's psychic link and will activate when someone touches it, but even if their tags are cut off, no difference in behavior is made afterwards since the owner of the TCD is not using it. When this happens, mortal/sub-owners of a TCD can do what they wish with the TCD with no adverse side effects. Some owners of TCDs, however, may feign not using them in order to get mortals addicted to having the TCD, then exploit their addiction when the victim is too far in addiction to resist or escape. Three former TCDs have had this happen, which one was disguised as a DSi, another a pillow, and the last a stuffed giraffe. Infamous TCDs There are indeed certain TCDs that are more prone to dangerous long-term effects than others. There are 5 TCDs currently that have this warning - two others have been either destroyed or lost. The current 5 can have some very strange effects upon those who get caught in their paths. #1. FG-7b0HR FG-7b0HR is the most infamous TCD currently in the Overworld. Some people call it "HillKiller" since it has been known to self-destruct, then repair itself for another user. Its disguise is a T-Shirt with the Eye of London on it. It has destroyed the lives of 15,000 victims since 1944, which is when it was sent. Those who had it eventually become insane and receive very strange hallucinations, and half of those 15,000 have been caught up with HillKiller's self destruction. Only 6% of those have survived. #2. WD-9q3YN WD-9q3YN, or "WindDevil", has been rated the #1 most mentally destructive machine in the world several times in a row. It cannot kill people (which is why it is the #2 most infamous TCD), but it can seriously mess up victim's self esteem, emotions, and the future of their lives. It is the only TCD that has switched forms, Ds.jpg Flower Pot.jpg WarriorsBook.jpg Giraffe.jpg which are shown at the right. 1,000 people have been affected by WindDevil. It seems to travel around on its own, and its owner rarely interacts with its victims by means of controlling them - but the owner does purposefully mess up their minds. They usually target their self-esteem and emotions. WindDevil's victims have been mistaken to be insane when they are really in severe depression or the renegade cycle. It also has been known to "harden" people over time to where they don't break at first from terrifying events, but when brought up, they cannot stop their mental breakdown. #3. TBC Category:RPG